Viti, Kosovo
Viti (definite Albanian form: Vitia) or Vitina (Serbian Cyrillic: Витина), is a town and municipality located in the District of Gjilan in Kosovo.[lower-alpha 1] According to the 2011 census, the town of Viti has 4,924 inhabitants, while the municipality has 46,987 inhabitants.
Viti
| |
|---|---|
Town and municipality | |
 | |
 Flag  Emblem | |
 Location of the municipality of Viti within Kosovo | |
| Coordinates: 42°18′N 21°23′E | |
| Location | Kosovo[lower-alpha 1] |
| District | Gjilan |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Sokol Haliti |
| • Municipal | 270 km2 (100 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 499 m (1,637 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Urban | 4,924 |
| • Municipal | 46,987 |
| • Municipal density | 170/km2 (450/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 61000 |
| Area code | +381 280 |
| Car plates | 06 |
| Website | kk |
Geography
The town of Vitia and the southern part of the Municipality lies on the foothills of the Karadak Mountains.[1]
History
Ottoman period
The municipality has several settlements historically inhabited by the Laramans, crypto-Catholics.
Kosovo War and aftermath
During the Kosovo War 16 KLA soldiers, as well as 5 Serb soldiers and policemen were killed in the Municipality.[2] The entire fighting in the municipality happened in the Southern part of Vitia, near the Karadak Mountains, in villages such as Lubishtë, Gjylekare, Mogillë, Smirë, Kabash and Dëbëlldeh.[2] The entire fighting happened in 1999.[2]
During and after the Kosovo War 76 civilians were killed, 38 Albanians and 38 Serbs.[2]
Following the 1999 Kosovo War, it was the home of A Company, 2/505 Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, the first KFOR troops to begin stabilization efforts in the municipality. After the initial unit left, Viti was the site of a subsequent international scandal when a Staff Sgt. Frank J. Ronghi, from A company, 3/504 Parachute Infantry Regiment raped and killed a local girl. The subsequent investigation uncovered serious training and leadership deficiencies in the 3/504 Parachute Infantry Regiment, and catalysed a tremendous change in the training of units deploying for peacekeeping operations.[3] The Church of the Holy Mother of God, Podgorce was looted during the conflict.
During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the Orthodox cemetery in Viti and the village of Dobreš were hit by missiles.[4]
In August 2003, explosive devices planted in Klokot destroyed five Serb houses, with several injuries, including two American KFOR soldiers.[5]
Serbian Orthodox cemeteries have been destroyed in Viti, among other towns, and in 2004 during unrest, nuns of the Binča monastery were physically attacked, by ethnic Albanians.[6]
Contemporary
In 2013 in response to a KLA monument being removed by Serbian authorities in Preševo, a Kosovo Albanian crowd in Viti demolished a Yugoslav-era memorial for anti-fascist Partisans that were killed during the Second World War.[7] Members of the Kosovo Police were present but did nothing to intervene. The incident was filmed and posted to YouTube.[8]
Municipality
- Ballancë
- Beguncë
- Binça
- Budrikë e Epërme
- Buzovik
- Çifllak
- Dëbëlldeh
- Devajë
- Drobesh
- Gërmovë
- Gjylekar
- Goden i Madh
- Gushicë
- Kabash
- Letnicë
- Lubishtë
- Mjak
- Novosellë
- Podgorc
- Pozharan
- Radivojc
- Ramjan
- Ramnishtë
- Remnik
- Sadovinë e Çerkezëve
- Sadovinë e Jerlive
- Shasharë
- Sllatinë e Epërme
- Sllatinë e Poshtme
- Smirë
- Stubëll e Epërme
- Stubëll e Poshtme
- Tërpezë
- Tërstenik
- Vërban
- Vërnakollë
- Vërnez
- Zhiti
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 33,642 | — |
| 1971 | 39,780 | +1.69% |
| 1981 | 47,839 | +1.86% |
| 1991 | 57,290 | +1.82% |
| 2011 | 46,987 | −0.99% |
According to the last official census done in 2011, the municipality of Viti has 46,987 inhabitants. Based on the population estimates from the Kosovo Agency of Statistics in 2016, the municipality has 47,370 inhabitants.
Ethnic groups
The ethnic composition of the municipality:
| Ethnic Composition, Including IDPs | |||||||||||||
| Year/Population | Albanian | % | Serbs | % | Croats | % | Roma | % | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 20,496 | 60.92 | 10,442 | 31.04 | 2,077 | 6.17 | 21 | 33,642 | |||||
| 1971 | 26,927 | 67.69 | 9,649 | 24.26 | 2,613 | 6.57 | 126 | 0.32 | 39,780 | ||||
| 1981 | 35,105 | 73.38 | 8,369 | 17.49 | 3,722 | 7.78 | 229 | 0.49 | 47,839 | ||||
| 1991 | 45,078 | 78.68 | 7,002 | 12.22 | 4,331 | 7.56 | 373 | 0.65 | 57,290 | ||||
| 2011 | 46,669 | 99.3 | 113 | 0.24 | 70 | 0.1 | 26 | 46,987 | |||||
| Reference: Yugoslav population census data, and the 2011 census in Kosovo. | |||||||||||||
Notes
- The political status of Kosovo is disputed. Having unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, Kosovo is formally recognised as an independent state by 101 out of 193 (52.3%) UN member states (with another 13 recognising it at some point but then withdrawing their recognition), while Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own territory.
References
- Warrander, Gail; Knaus, Verena (2010). Kosovo: The Bradt Travel Guide. Bradt Travel Guides. ISBN 978-1-84162-331-3.
- "List of killed, missing and disappeared 1998-2000".
- https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/02/world/us-sergeant-gets-life-in-murder-of-kosovo-girl-11.html%7Cdate=May 2008
- Civilian Deaths in the NATO Air Campaign. Human Rights Watch. 2000. p. 59.
- Serbian Studies. Vol. 18. North American Society for Serbian Studies. 2004. p. 315.
- Savo B. Jović (2007). Ethnic Cleansing and Cultural Genocide on Kosovo and Metohija: Testimony to the Suffering of the Serbian Orthodox Church and Serbian People from 1945 to 2005. Holy Synod of Bishops of The Serbian Orthodox Church. pp. 113, 157. ISBN 978-86-7758-017-9.
- Ristic, Marija; Peci, Edona (22 January 2013). "UN Seeks Calm After Serbia Monument Protest". Balkaninsight. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- "Serb cemeteries, memorials desecrated in Kosovo". B92. Beta/Tanjug. 21 January 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
External links
